Take Advantage of Art School Opportunities
Here are 10 reasons why art schools offer invaluable training for your future career.
Becoming an artist doesn't require a degree. You can make art at any time, using only a few inexpensive supplies.
Launching your art career doesn't require becoming certified or getting hired by an employer. So why bother with art schools?
From earning important contacts that can help you later in your career, to gaining hands on instruction from a professional, you may be surprised by how beneficial art school can be.
Even if you're a prodigy with loads of talent, no responsibilities and a relentless drive to succeed, art schools still have a lot to offer.
Top 10 Advantages of Art Schools
1. Time
Aspiring artists who choose to take the do-it-yourself approach to launching their artistic careers often struggle to find the time to create art because they may be waiting tables to pay the rent. As an art student, however, you'll be able to devote the bulk of your energies to making art.
2. Access to equipment
Art schools typically have state-of-the art equipment that you'd be hard-pressed to get your hands on in any other way. Even if your medium doesn't require a lot of equipment, art school is the perfect place to experiment with techniques that require more than paint and a paintbrush.
3. Studio space
Along with equipment, most art schools allow students lots of access to well designed studio space to help aid your process.
4. Expert instruction
Art school professors are ready and willing to put their years of experience behind guiding your work. Just a little help from even one mentor can save you from years of struggling to figure out who you are as an artist, where you want to go with your work, and how to get there.
5. Shortened learning curve
It can take years to gain enough knowledge just to understand what you need to learn when you're on your own. Attending art school allows you to move quickly through a structured curriculum designed to provide you with a broad base of useful knowledge.
6. Built-in community
Even the most talented artist needs a peer group to keep him or her motivated and productive. At art school, you'll have an easy time building the professional network that will serve you well throughout your career.
7. Exposure
Not only will your professors and classmates become intimately acquainted with your work, student shows will allow you to get your work seen by the public.
8. Networking opportunities
Many art schools host visiting artists and put on all sorts of extra-curricular events that will allow you to make contacts outside of your school circle.
9. Internships and other work
Professional artists and art-related organizations often turn to art schools first when looking for assistants. In addition, many art schools offer career counseling or career placement services to help you find employment in your field after graduation.
10. Business skills
Along with developing and honing your artistic abilities, most art schools will teach you the basics of how to run a small business, including how to make a budget, price your art, handle basic accounting tasks and market your work.